How do I know if the rear wheel is truly aligned? I tried mks tugs, but they seemed more of a pain than anything else. The method used is the walking the wheel back while keeping one axle tight. This is my first time fixie. It seems to make a little more noise than I was expecting. The chain is an Izumi ECO, the chainring White Industries, and the cogs of unknown origin. It looks straight to me with no binding, but that's not saying much considering my track record. No pun intended.

Can someone give me advice on what to look for if it's not right? From everything I've read it seems to be a pain to align the first time without tugs, but it took all of about a minute to get it as good as I can. Each time I try it still takes no time. I was expecting it to be more difficult than this.

Thanks for any info provided.

Try riding it for a while... It takes some time for cogs and chains to settle/mesh....As long as you have reasonable chain tension and the chainline is close, ride the bike. After a couple of ride see if the noise is still there..By the way, I hardly ever use tugs...

I get the front of the rear wheel in line with the seat tube and the tire centered between the stays. I pull the wheel back so the chain is not quite taut and tighten the nuts by hand. I then stuff a rig between the front of the while and the seat tube to hold it in place while I tighten the nuts the rest of the way. I don't find the alignment part difficult, but sometimes need more than one try to get just the chain tension so it can't possibly jump the cogs and still allows the drive train to spin freely when I turn the pedal with my hand and let go. On the road I use a ratcheting box wrench which I find a big help getting the chain tension right.

Are you talking about mounting the wheel straight, or chain tension, or chainline? If your wheel is dished properly (i.e., rim centered between locknuts) and your frame is straight, then "aligning" the wheel is just like on any other bike: center it between the chainstays. As for chainline, that's a function of axle spacing, to get the cog in line with the chainring. You can't change it by how you mount the wheel.

If you're talking about chain tension, that just takes some practice. Spinfinity described the ideal just about perfectly: tight enough so it can't come off, but not so tight it binds. Most people look for a barely noticeable sag in the long run of the chain.

And the fact that was easier than you thought it would be doesn't necessarily mean you have it wrong -- it doesn't prove you have it right, either.